Between all this bickering over who's peniphone is the largest best, it's always nice to be able to post a positive story, a story which shows that for every abusive company, there's one that shows the world just how it's done. This time, it's Bose. Founder and primary stockholder of Bose, Amar G. Bose, has donated a large number of non-voting shares of the company to MIT, where he spent his university career. Dividends over these shares will be paid each year to MIT, which will use it for research and educational purposes.

3 different posts, and 3 different answers. You're probably not going to get a consensus or fantastic audio advice at OSNews (unsurprising, given the name).

My sincere recommendation is to post this question in an on-topic forum. I recommend avsforum.com. They have a large user base, and their members subscribe to less "audiophile hokum" than do members of other forums. Seriously, this is a great question that deserves a great answer from people who care about the topic, so don't ask it here. When you do ask your question, make sure to do the following:

1) Post it in the proper section (probably one dedicated to Speakers and Subwoofers). The speakers themselves ought to account for the majority of money you spend. Good receivers, by comparison, can be had cheaply.
2) Be fairly specific about your requirements - size, price, aesthetics, and typical use case (music, movies, video games, etc).
3) Don't mention Bose. You'll get laughed at and people might not take your question seriously.

My personal recommendation for speakers is Ascend Acoustics. They are an internet only company that makes fantastic stuff. The owner is very knowledgeable and accessible. But seriously, don't take my word for it - post in the appropriate forum and see what kind of feedback you get.

The gear I buy is actually cheaper than Bose, and outperforms it in almost every way. In fact, this is the experience of almost everybody who has cared to legitimately test Bose against its competition. Laughing might not be an appropriate reaction, but they would be wise to warn the OP against Bose.

Some of the people in audio forums have expensive gear, and some (like me) don't. Regardless, they do (on average) know what they're talking about. It would behoove you (and the OP) to listen to people who have expertise in a field, rather than scorning them and implying they're all elitists.